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The Madness of President Ackerman
Background As the Second Battle of Berlin turned into a stalemate, and fronts in Scandinavia and Central Europe also began to stabilize, the Allies began negotiations with the Soviets for a truce - the war had led to nothing, and both factions were weary of war. After the faction supporting the truce, led by General Davidova, defeated the Premier's forces in Leningrad, the road was open for diplomats from both sides to meet in Luxembourg to dictate the conditions of the truce, and in the end of January, commanders from both sides could call for the soldiers to stop fighting in Berlin as the Allies and the Soviets signed the Treaty of Luxembourg. Notably absent from the meeting was Howard T. Ackerman, recently re-elected President of the United States, who had opposed the truce from the day the idea was launched, strongly believing in fighting the Soviets until their defeat. Instead, the truce was signed by Illinois Senator Michael Dugan, representing a Congress weary of war, who had been given the clear to overrule the Presidential veto and sign the bill in his absence. Upon hearing of the truce, Ackerman reportedly threw the hot line to Moscow into the wall of the Oval Office and retreated immediately to the Mount Rushmore Base, one of the bases commanded directly by American military. Representatives of the Allied military, who had noticed suspicious behaviour from Ackerman as of late, decided to track the activity at the base. Requesting all available data on the base, the responsible officers couldn't believe their eyes when they received information about a giant Spectrum Cannon mounted on Mount Rushmore itself, able to reach any target in the known world - including the Soviet Union, which was the likely target of the rabidly anti-Soviet Ackerman, and which would also invalidate the truce - a move that would be deadly to the more slowly mobilized Allied forces. After an emergency meeting, in which they weren't able to contact Ackerman, the Allies decided for the most controversial action possible: taking up arms against the President of the United States. Force Composition Allied Task Force During the Allied emergency meeting, Field Marshal Bingham contacted the newly instated and relatively sensible Premier Davidova of the Soviet Union to inform her of the situation. Expectedly, the Allies' concerns were confirmed - the only possible Soviet response to the destruction of their capital would be a full-scale assault. While there was no room for co-operation, Davidova urged the Allies to send the best squad available. They agreed and contacted Warren Fuller, the most experienced Allied commander currently stationed in the region, currently training a Reservist unit in Chicago. Bingham quickly arranged transport for him to South Dakota. Along with Fuller, Agent Tanya was sent, and the available and loyal forces in western South Dakota and Wyoming were sent to take care of Ackerman - nothing could be spared in such a dire situation. Unfortunately, the low risk of the Soviet Union reaching the state lowered the amount of men available drastically, although a Reservist Tank division and a couple of planes could be mobilized. Fortunately, the Allied High and Experimental Technology Division had a base in nearby Rapid City, which was contacted and requested for available forces. A couple of Athena Cannons, Mirage Tank and an under-development Particle Expeller were thus mobilized, and awaited the arrival of the other forces before heading to the southwest. Ackerman's Loyalists Of course, a man of Howard T. Ackerman's intelligence had never gone through with the plan without having thought it through. With him, he brought his entire Secret Service, who he had personally selected to prove a loyal set of bodyguards. Along with the Secret Service, Ackerman had personally convinced General Ben Carville to support him, if not with open revolt. Instead, he would disturb the Allied communications and counter-order, as well as informing a few notable pro-Ackerman soldiers of the situation and directing them to South Dakota. Another group of men loyal to Ackerman was the Freedom Guard, originally a group of refugees from Eastern Europe who had banded together to protest against the Allies when they decided for a cease-fire, leaving large parts of the Allied holdings in Europe under Soviet occupation. Also directed by General Carville, they took up arms and met up with the loyalist soldiers at the Mount Rushmore Base, where the President was headed in his limo. The Mount Rushmore complex itself was a spectacular construction. It was a gift from President McCarthy to future presidents in case of an extreme threat to American sovereignty. It had been built into the mountain itself in the fifties in a top-secret operation, and consisted of a massive Spectrum cannon inside the head of Theodore Roosevelt, able to fire a satellite guided Spectrum beam across the entire planet. Three Spectrum guns had also been placed inside the other heads to defend the facility. It was certainly able to do what Ackerman most probably intended. To Rescue Moscow As the war had ended and people were just settling down back in their normal lives, the citizens of Rapid City were probably surprised at the activity at the military base in the middle of the night. After a brief moment of hustling activity, a number of Carryalls and Cardinals departed from the base, heading southwest towards Mount Rushmore, as dozens of tanks assembled in Keystone Town just outside the monument, not unlike another group of men had done the week before. Recon shots of the base had revealed that the base had been activated, and that Ackerman was on his way himself to give the clear for the Spectrum Cannon to fire through radio uplink, so the force had to act quickly. Utilizing decoy helicopters to mislead the anti-air fire, Tanya was able to land a few meters from the Mount Rushmore Signal Tower. She proceeded to take out the defenders and the power to the signal tower by blowing up the generator a while away, taking the signal tower down as well "just to be sure". In his limousine nearby, Ackerman discovered that his radio link didn't work, and cursed at the "Damned commie traitors". With the signal tower down, and the base's radar with it, the Allied force could move into the national park area. As the column moved forward, they were fired upon by hidden men of the Freedom Guard, hidden in the bushes of the park. Most of the Peacekeepers were detached to deal with this threat, and the rest of the troop kept moving. Upon approaching the military installation, the Allied soldiers discovered, to their horror, the heads of Presidents Washington, Jefferson and Lincoln shattering, revealing three Spectrum cannons in the stone skulls. They began firing at the troop, destroying three tanks and several infantrymen, who subsequently retreated to outside the range of the cannons. The Peacekeepers had taken care of the snipers, and the commanders contacted the task force to form a plan. With Apologies to Mr. Roosevelt The two Mirage tanks activated their Stealth modes, taking the Athena Cannons, the Particle Expeller and Tanya with them up a hill overlooking the national park. The conventional army was ordered to search the national park for more snipers and hidden enemies, while staying out of range of the deadly cannons. While the Athenas couldn't reach the main base, a couple of unprotected civilian Power Plants were located a few meters from it, allowing them to be targeted and destroyed. While the base itself was run from its own power plants, the lights around the park were powered by these, turning the base pitch black. While the rebels didn't lack flashlights or means to see, the resulting confusion threw the base into chaos as the Freedom Guard, little proficient in English, tried to converse with the Americans in their native languages. The spectrum cannons, aimed manually, were also impaired by the lack of light, allowing the Allies to move forward yet again. With skill and usage of mirrors, a soldier sneaking up towards the base entrance managed to trick the Washington cannon's operator to fire at a Spectrum Tower, leaving a hole in the base defences for the Mirage Tank companies to enter through. Under the cover of the Mirage Tanks, with their motors turned off and camouflaged well enough to remain relatively unnoticed in the confusion, the Particle Expeller shot a volley of particles at the base's own power plants. Assisted by the Athena Cannons, the power to the control building and base defences went offline as the power plants went up in smoke. By now, Ackerman's soldiers had managed to organize themselves, but without the help of base defences they were overpowered by the superior Allied numbers. Those who weren't killed in action were taken captive, to be transported later to Allied courts for treason charges. The present members of the Secret Service put up a tough fight, but in the end they were defeated as well. The commanders present deemed the existence of the superweapon under the direct control of the President of the United States a threat to the Allied operations, and ordered the monument to be destroyed. The Athena Cannons aimed and fired, taking out the cannon and the head of Abraham Lincoln. Moments later, Washington and Jefferson followed. One Shot to Change History The darkness of the night had the additional effect of slowing Ackerman's car down. When the limo finally arrived at the national park, Ackerman saw two beams of light shine down at the site of the monument. Realizing that the Allies had intervened, he ordered the driver to turn around. In case of emergency, the President had hired a cargo plane from a private contractor in Keystone Town to use as an escape route. Unfortunately for Ackerman, Commander Fuller was positioned in Keystone, the national park deemed as too insecure. As the light of the beams reached them as well, they contacted the Allied military command for a radar scan on Ackerman's limo. When they received the information that he was on his way towards them, they saw that there was no way the present military forces could intercept the quicker limo. After a quick conversation, they decided to take care of Ackerman themselves - after all, they were both disposable, while the capture of Ackerman was crucial. As the limo rolled into the village, Colonel Fuller, who had "requisitioned" a machine gun from a member of the home guard living next door to the house used as the command centre, fired at the armoured car. The volley of shots stopped the car in its tracks. The members of the Secret Service threw the car doors open, but were met by Fuller's gun, firing until it clicked - although he didn't go by unharmed, being hit in the knee. Being alone versus Colonel Fuller, Ackerman himself rushed at his colonel in a despairing last resort, pulling a bladed weapon and threatening Fuller's life. In desperation, Fuller grabbed his private pistol from the war and shot Ackerman twice - once in the chest, and once in the head. Mortally wounded, Ackerman exclaimed "America... I have failed you!" before collapsing. Aftermath With the President dead, the Allies had no choice but to deliver the news of Ackerman's madness and the events of Mount Rushmore to the public. As expected, the result was a complete outrage. While a part of those who voted for Ackerman and most of his enemies were shocked by the President's betrayal, many of his supporters believed that the incident was a conspiracy by the socialist Allies to get rid of a staunch enemy to their social policies, and damage American culture in the process. Ackerman's Vice President, Dennis Hoffhassle, was notified and ready to be sworn in on the date that Ackerman was originally going to swear the oath - February 20th, with the Allies appointing a temporary, non-political candidate, Nicholas Laramore, to run the duties of President while the Allies investigated the mess. What the Allies certainly didn't expect upon the investigation of Ackerman's body was that he was no human, but a humanoid android, manufactured in Japan. Emperor Kamina denied all knowledge of the spy upon being questioned, and informed the Allies about a terminated android project that was directed by the late Crown Prince Tatsu himself, probably the only man in Japan except for Emperor Yoshiro knowing Ackerman's true identity. The Allies realized that if Ackerman himself was replaced, the possibility of other androids in the American government was a distinct possibility, especially without anyone able to deny it alive. They saw no other possibility than to detain the government and keep one controlled by the Allies themselves, to avoid a great security breach. Vice President Hoffhassle and the rest of Ackerman's government were subsequently arrested and taken into custody for an "authenticity check" on the very day of the inauguration. This event, sparking a complete outcry throughout the United States and dubbed A Monument to Madness, led to the Rise of the Rebellion. Category:Battles